Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Dubuque, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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I rode the Heritage Trail starting near Comiskey Park in Dubuque and finishing in Dyersville for a total of almost sixty miles round trip. The Heritage Trail surprised me with the variety of scenery from marshes, streams, rolling pastureland and limestone passages. The trail surface is perfect crushed gravel and is very wide the entire way. I can't recall any major imperfections the entire way. The extension from Dubuque to Sageville is paved.
As of September '26 there was one trail closure between Sageville and Durango that required a short well marked detour on a quiet gravel road. Most trailheads had bathrooms and both Dyersville and Dubuque offer many dining options. I went to Iowa expecting nothing more than farmland and came away surprised by the breathtaking scenery the Heritage Trail provides.
Rode from Dodgeville to Barneveld. The trail is pretty rough and feels more like a dirt road than a rail trail. Some sections are fine, but on other sections you really need to pay attention.
Love this trail but rode today between Riley and Brigham County Park and found the trail to be in extremely rough shape on either side of Mt. Horeb. Lots of ruts, giant holes and loose sand. Slow your roll and pay attention to utility flags and sticks identifying some of the bigger holes. Stay safe!
Parked at Graf and rode east to Durango and back 16 miles. The trail surface is packed sand/stone dust and a really pleasant ride! No roots, heaves, potholes, etc. There are plenty of spots to rest and take in the scenery or have a snack. There is a new bathroom which was clean. Looked like spots to camp as well. At Durango, there is a place to eat right on the trail. Shaded canopy. The limestone cliffs reminded me of the KATY trail. Wish I had time to go west but alas, this gives me an excuse to visit Iowa again!
Beautiful multi-use trail. It is the only trail open to ATV/UTV’s in Southern WI
Some really pretty parts but a lot of road riding. Started from Cattail Slough Boat Launch (free parking as long as you don’t have a boat trailer attached to your car), rode to Mississippi Pallisades State Park and camped. Rode back the next day. Campground was fantastic and Krumpets Bakery in Fulton should not be missed. The actual trail portions were nice and the Thomson Recreational Area was nice. In Northern Illinois you have to know that there’s going to be a lot of long distance straight sections but this was excessively so. Maybe 35% was trail and 65% road. Happy to say I’ve ridden it but won’t return.
Just finished riding this trail over four days. They were in the middle of repaving a section which I thought was great but right along route 84 very scary and hazardous.. you either had to walk your bike through the grass, or take your chances on the highway. The trail is poorly marked when you have to take secondary roads to reconnect with the trail, especially when you’re heading towards Moline.. good places to stay very close to the trail and there is no problem finding any place to eat. I’ve ridden it once that will probably be my only time I will ride this trail..
We rode from Albany to Fulton. There’s minimal signage along the way so we stopped a lot to check our app. Not great trail along the way. Will skip this portion as a repeat ride.
Absolutely gorgeous ride with the trail in perfect condition. Unlike other trails, this one is serviced often with repairs being done with crushed gravel instead of sand. They have put multiple new bathroom facilities throughout the trail as well.
The north most section has wonderful river views, picnic tables & benches. Then the trail runs along a heavy industrial area & is pretty ugly. The trail is also appears longer than the map indicates, but we turned back based on the map’s endpoint & poor scenery. TrailLink gives little mention to Eagle Point Park at the north end which is just amazing. If you just load/unload in their parking lot you will have missed the very best of the trail.
The Galena River Trail is well packed crushed stone suited for road bike tires. It meanders through the woods along the river and to the Mississippi River. There is a section that shares the road with death machines that are supposed to yield. This section has larger looser rock. Overall I rate this trail 5 stars and I recommend checking it out. Traveling cyclist Facebook
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